A-OK to send Paajarvi to OKCity

With 20 games left in their NHL season, the Edmonton Oilers would rather Magnus Paajarvi be playing 20 games in Oklahoma City, which is in the AHL, and is exactly the right neighbourhood for the Swedish winger.

He’s officially been assigned to the farm club, probably for the rest of the season, after eight points in 41 games, unless the Oilers get a run of injuries and bring him back. In fact, Paajarvi should probably have been there from Dec. 10 on, not yo-yoed back and forth (two separate stints in the minors; 10 games once and four the other time) but they were still thinking he’d find last year’s NHL rookie touch around the net when he had 15 goals. Alas, Paajarvi isn’t on the same upward learning curve as Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle, two other second-year pros . He is more of a project, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Not every 20-year-old develops at the same rate. Same with Paajarvi’s buddy, centre Anton Lander, who is also in OKCity as we speak. Both players will be on the Barons playoff roster.

At the trade deadline, the Oilers had to have an NHL roster and an AHL roster. Players on the NHL roster as of Feb. 27 can’t go down and play for the farm club in the playoffs. Lander was sent down before Feb. 27 and is eligible for playoff action. Paajarvi, who had played 14 games in the minors, was already eligible for playoff work, no matter if he’s officially sent down, now. Both players can be summoned from the farm between now and April 7, the final NHL league game, but the Oilers only have four call-ups allowed, as does every NHL club after the trade deadline.

There is a very good chance we’ll be seeing winger Linus Omark some time before the NHL season ends. He’s on the Barons playoff roster, too, but the Oilers want to see what Omark can do at the NHL level, again, with his two-year contract running out. I suspect he might want to go back to Sweden to play (Lulea was interested in him before he broke his foot in an AHL game) if he doesn’t see any light at the end of the tunnel with the Oilers’ organization. He’s an NHL calibre player. Maybe the Oilers would trade his NHL rights after the season ends because he’s a restricted free-agent.

Meanwhile, Theo Peckham, who did not play a single game in February, sits. He’s the eighth healthy defenceman on a team where only six can play in a game. He’s been ready to play for some time now after getting some facial contusions, but the Oilers traded one D-man Tom Gilbert and brought in another Nick Schultz, who will be wearing No. 15 against the St. Louis Blues Wednesday–playing most likely with Ryan Whitney. Oilers’ coach Tom Renney says he knows he has to get Peckham into a game, but it’s overkill having eight defencemen on an NHL team that’s going to miss the playoffs. Teams that are going to go deep down the Stanley Cup trail need depth, but not teams that are going be done playing on April 7. Peckham’s contract is up July1. He’s a restricted free-agent too. The Oilers have a decision to make on him too. Do they sign him again? Or trade him?

The Oilers are still carrying three goalies–Devan Dubnyk, who played his seventh straight game Wednesday, Nikolai Khabibulin, still nursing a tweaked groin, and Yann Danis. Khabibulin could return Friday when Sheldon Souray makes his return here, with the Dallas Stars.

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